Driver Shortage !!!!!!

If the driver has to sit all day, then the pay is nothing.

Most major carriers are not hurting for money and would not feel anything except reductions to the major bonus and huge salaries for the CEO's to properly pay drivers.

I have knowledge on the accounting side of this as well.

After all, these companies do not even pay for the entire miles you have to drive to deliver a load.

 

$30 an hour + plus meal allowance + cell phone allowance + x number of dollars for each night spent in the sleeper for being away from home + NICE, GOOD EQUIPMENT, Trucks AND trailers, and you will find all the GOOD drivers you need.

 

Most drivers would prefer to drive rather than sit, but it happens. When a driver agrees to come to work for a carrier they are told what they will be paid. The driver has a choice. He can come to work or walk. No one twists his arm to come to work. So, he may sit from time to time. That is the freight business.

You don't really know whether most carriers are hurting or not. The last couple of years has been rough on most carriers. Apparently, you don't know much about how most businesses operate, especially in this industry. When a company is in trouble, most responsible CEO's will cut their own wages to make sure the company survives. I understand there are exceptions, such as the recent demise of Arrow, but that is a very broad statement with no basis in fact. I have owned several businesses over the years and I have ALWAYS made sure that my employees got paid, whether I did or not. I am not alone with that type of thinking. I know others who feel the same way.

Maybe you know something about one company with your accounting experience, but you don't know how ALL businesses operate. Not every CEO is so self serving. Many are very paternalistic about their drivers.

And there are some carriers who pay hub miles and others that pay practical, which should be close to actual. I will agree that there are still some who pay HHG or short miles, but you don't have to work for them. If you are an owner operator then you can always take your truck somewhere else or get your own authority, if you are not happy. Then you can operate any way you wish.

 

What I do know about some of the business entities, I cannot divulge. I have not just worked on one firm. I worked on many and prepared many returns each year.

However, we will not agree on this, so it is best to just disagree.

 

Real easy-everything but driving gets an hourly wage.Would create a lot of drop and hook.I was thinking $15 an hour and 40cpm for right now,subject to col.

 

That is fine, but for a couple of things. Most drivers are not worth $0.40/mile starting out. An experienced driver could command that much. The potential problem you would have with the hourly pay is when do you start the clock and how would you know that the driver was being honest? It is the accountability and supervision that is the problem. Most workers will take advantage unless they know that someone is checking on them. There are others who are honest and do their best no matter what the situation.

 

So okay what part of being supervised 24/7 in the truck don't you understand? Most trucks have Qualcomms correct? Is not a qualcomm a COMPUTER SYSTEM???? Are you telling me that the Qualcomm can not tell what the truck is doing at each and every moment from sitting, moving, how many MPH/speed, idling to having the A/C on???? And I have heard that CR England has a 1000 trucks with cameras on the dash recording the driver.

I think that as long as drivers are paid CPM it just perpetuates that drivers try to cheat the system to make an honest day's pay or wage!!! Drivers would be paid an hourly wage based on experience like they are paid CPM's SOMETIMES based on experience but NOT always! There will always be someone who cheats the system no matter what but if drivers were paid fairly I think there would be far less cheating than there is today.

 

We have laws against theft, robbery, speeding, murder, etc., Having a law doesn't guarantee compliance. I don't know that all drivers cheat the system. People obey laws they consider fair. Paying by the hour will not stop cheating on a log book any more than having an EOBR will insure compliance. Paying by the hour would encourage cheating by drivers on the hours they work. I disagree about drivers being paid fairly. Most drivers are paid a fair wage. The only area that I would like to see changed is to be paid for sitting at a loading dock. Shippers and consignee's do sometimes keep trucks tied of for longer than is necessary and often without compensating the carrier, which usually means that the driver is also sitting without being paid. That should be changed.

I prefer being paid for my performance, as do hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of drivers. Being paid by the hour may sound good, but no matter how hard you work, your pay will remain the same. Mileage or percentage offers an opportunity to give yourself a raise or to have a bigger paycheck. If otr drivers were paid by the hour, I would expect a dramatic drop in productivity for the industry. It would take away the incentive to produce. It would have the same effect on productivity as union have proven to do. In fact, were drivers paid hourly, I would expect unions to move in and try to take over. Once drivers were paid hourly, then they would think that they were not paid enough per hour. Then they would again be dissatisfied. Many would probably look to unions to force carriers to pay them a higher wage regardless of productivity.

 

Not all have them, but there is a very large majority that do.

With the EOBR's coming there will be a method of tracking this.

Many drivers will be glad to have the ability of receiving pay by hour when they lose the driving hours. In addition, if they were to properly record loading and unloading, then compensation would be warranted.

I worked under percentage at one company and was ripped off by the crooked owner and their loose accounting. Had to get an attorney in order to get missed pay.

Mileage pay is another way we are ripped off. HHG versus the actual miles.

If you are delayed by weather and accidents, then you would be receiving pay as well as when broke down. When broke down in the past, not a dime was paid by the company to me.

 

I think you said that you were an owner operator, Roadmedic? How does the carrier to whom you are leased pay? As an owner operator, do you think that you should be paid by the hour? If so, would you be willing to pay for the equipment to monitor your movement?

I am sorry to hear that you were ripped off by a carrier when you were paid percentage. If all parties are honest then it is the fairest way to pay an owner operator or driver. If you are an owner operator I am surprised that you would want drivers to be paid hourly. You have probably never had drivers in your truck. It gives you a different perspective.

I agree about HHG. You can lose from about 8-15% by being compensated with HHG miles. There is no reason for any shipper, carrier or broker to pay HHG with today's technology.